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Main Stories
o Vivendi Universal Games Announces Reorganization, 350 Layoffs
o Senate "Family Movie Act" Would OK Parental Content-Filtering Technology
o French Police Arrest Former Vivendi Chairman Messier
o Atari Parent Co. Infogrames Raises $28.2 Million in Share Sale
o Investor Group Acquires Loews Cineplex Theater Chain for $1.47 Billion
o Yahoo Launches Search Engine in China
o Report: Streaming Media Ad Revenue to Reach $864 Million in 2005
o Citing User Complaints, Universal to Halt CD Copy-Protection in Germany

o Briefly Noted: MusicNow, Senate Commerce Committee - P2P hearing, Comcast - Discovery Communications, Destra - The Orchard, CinemaNow - York Entertainment, Jakks Pacific - Marvel, Atari, Midway Games, Electronic Arts, Aspyr Media, Google - Gmail targeted ads, U.S. Army - video game development studio _____________________________________________

Los Angeles -- Vivendi Universal Games, the video game publishing unit of the Franco-American media conglomerate, announced on Monday that it will lay off 350 employees as part of a reorganization and cost reduction plan. The company said that the layoffs would not affect its Blizzard Entertainment studio, which develops the "Diablo," "Warcraft" and "Starcraft" online games. "Restructuring the organization and reducing our cost base are necessary to improve our operating effectiveness and profitability," said VU Games CEO Bruce Hack. "This constitutes another important step in our turnaround plan aimed to better position the company for growth." Vivendi Universal Games plans to release several major titles in the second half of 2004, including Blizzard's "World of Warcraft."
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/040621/media_vivendi_games_1.html     
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o Senate "Family Movie Act" Would OK Parental Content-Filtering Technology

Washington -- A new bill introduced in the U.S. Senate, opposed by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), would legitimize technology that can be used by parents to filter language and content from DVD movies. Sponsored by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.), H.R. 4586 (the "Family Movie Act") would enable companies like Clearplay, which offers DVD player software that can filter movies the company has screened itself, to sell its products without fear of lawsuits from movie producers. The MPAA has sued Clearplay and other companies marketing similar products, arguing that they amount to copyright infringement and alter the creative visions of filmmakers. "The technology my legislation allows does not alter any movie's violence, sex and profanity," said Rep. Smith. "But it does allow parents to skip over the movie's violence, sex and profanity. If they choose to designate a technology company to help them accomplish this, more power to them." MPAA CEO Jack Valenti testified that no legislation is necessary because studios are currently actively negotiating with movie filtering companies and directors to create "airplane-like" edited versions of popular films, similar to those shown as in-flight entertainment.
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/gpoxmlc108/h4586_ih.xml
http://lamarsmith.house.gov/news.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=454
http://www.mpaa.org/jack/2004/2004_06_17a.pdf 
http://www.clearplay.com 
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o French Police Arrest Former Vivendi Chairman Messier

Paris -- News media on Monday reported that former Vivendi Universal chairman Jean-Marie Messier has been arrested for alleged violations of securities law. French authorities, who are investigating a massive share buyback in which the company allegedly spent more than $1.2 billion to prop up its own share price, said that Messier could remain in custody for up to 48 hours. The French financial crimes brigade said they opened their investigation of Messier after a number of shareholders claimed in 2001 that the media and entertainment conglomerate published false and misleading statements. Messier was ousted as chairman the following year after billions of euro worth of secret stock repurchases brought the company to the brink of bankruptcy.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?L2FE36C98
http://www.vivendiuniversal.com/vu/en/home/index.cfm?f=true  
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o Atari Parent Co. Infogrames Raises $28.2 Million in Share Sale

New York -- French video games firm Infogrames, the majority shareholder of game publisher Atari, announced that it has closed a $28.2 million financing. The company said it sold 10.6 million shares of Atari through its wholly-owned subsidiary, California US Holdings, to Nexgen Capital and received $28.2 million. Infogrames had controlled 67% of Atari before the transaction and said after the deal its stake will be 58% during the one-year transaction period.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040617/175781_1.html 
http://www.nexgenfs.com 
http://www.atari.com    
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o Investor Group Acquires Loews Cineplex Theater Chain for $1.47 Billion

Toronto -- Onex Corporation, which owns Loews Cineplex, the third-largest movie theater chain in the world with 200 theaters and 2,200 screens, announced on Monday that it has agreed to sell the business to a corporation formed by Bain Capital, The Carlyle Group and Spectrum Equity Investors for $1.47 billion. Onex and partner Oaktree Capital Management will retain the Loews interest in Cineplex Galaxy, which operates the Loews theaters in Canada. "Loews Cineplex has been an excellent investment for Onex Corporation," said Onex managing director Anthony Munk. "Since acquiring it [out of bankruptcy] we have built it into a leading exhibitor." Toronto-based Onex said its share of the proceeds from the sale would be around $568 million. "Thanks in part to an existing theater portfolio that has been recently upgraded, Loews is well-positioned to capitalize on the industry's steady growth prospects," said Bain Capital managing director John Connaughton. "The investor group will work closely with the talented management team to grow the business."
http://www.onex.com/ex/ex_news/news_popup.asp?newsid=1105
http://www.baincapital.com 
http://www.loewscineplex.com    
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o Yahoo Launches Search Engine in China

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Yahoo on Monday launched a new search engine destination for Chinese Internet users, Yisou, which translates as "No. 1 search" in English. The launch comes a week after rival Google made its first foray into China with the purchase of a minority stake in Chinese search engine Baidu.com. "The introduction of Yisou will help extend our reach into the rapidly growing search market in China," said Yahoo North Asia vice president David Lu. Recent state data shows that China has the second-largest Internet population, after the U.S., with 80 million residents online.
http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/040621/tech_china_yahoo_1.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108781926866842779,00.html 
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o Report: Streaming Media Ad Revenue to Reach $864 Million in 2005

Monterey, Calif. -- The streaming media advertising market is expected to take in revenues of $625 million this year and grow to $864 million in 2005, according to a report from Monterey, Calif.-based AccuStream iMedia Research. The report concludes that audio and video streaming media ads will account for 37% of total streaming media revenue in 2004, up from 28% in 2003. The firm cited increased broadband penetration, as well as the incorporation by media sites of a variety of traditional and new multimedia ad formats, such as pre-roll ads, ads running inside subscription streams, Java video ads that are not tied directly to a requested stream and between-the-page ad units. "What's happened over the past two years, is that agencies, rep firms, solutions providers and content sites have recognized that as streaming media has grown in reach, it can in fact be supported by advertising. And, broadcast media budgets are the target everyone is shooting for," said AccuStream research director Paul A. Palumbo.
http://www.accustreamresearch.com/news/june12-04.html 
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o Citing User Complaints, Universal to Halt CD Copy-Protection in Germany

London -- Major record label Universal Music Group has decided to phase out the sale of copy-protected CDs in Germany, "to address ongoing concerns that copy-protected CDs do not play in some hi-fi devices," Reuters reported. The company added that it may reintroduce the technology, which prevents album tracks from being uploaded to the Internet, after it is further fine-tuned. Some consumers have complained to retailers that copy-protected CDs won't play in some devices that are designed to play CDs, such as car stereos, PCs or DVD players. The revelation from Universal comes following the announcement last week that a copy-protected CD released by BMG was the top-selling CD in the U.S. for the week, and that fellow major label EMI would conduct its own trials of CD copy-protection.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?K5F532D98 
http://www.umusic.com 

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(Chicago) MusicNow, a provider of branded digital music stores and subscription services, announced on Monday that CEO Scott Kauffman has resigned, and additionally that co-founder and chief operating officer Chris Gladwin is leaving the company to pursue new opportunities. The company's other co-founder, Gary Cohen, was appointed to serve as president of MusicNow. Chicago-based MusicNow was recently acquired by electronics retailer Circuit City, which is in the process of integrating the company's service into its retail stores. MusicNow has also created digital music services for a number of Clear Channel-owned radio stations.
http://www.musicnow.com

(Washington) The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee plans to hold a hearing on Wednesday on the future of peer-to-peer technology, "regarding the potential benefits and detriments to both consumers and content providers from the anticipated uses of P2P file distribution technology in the future." Testimony will come from, among others, FTC director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection Howard Beales; EMI Group executive vice president John Rose; and StreamCast Networks CEO Michael Weiss. A live webcast will be available beginning at 2:30 p.m. Eastern time.
http://commerce.senate.gov/hearings/witnesslist.cfm?id=1247

(Philadelphia) Cable TV operator Comcast said on Monday that it has signed a multi-year agreement with Discovery Communications to offer Discovery Networks programs as part of its video-on-demand and HDTV services. In addition to making episodes of programs like "American Chopper," "Crocodile Hunter" and "Trading Spaces" available on video-on-demand, Comcast will also include the 24-hour Discovery HD Theater high-definition channel part of its own HDTV package offered to subscribers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040621/phm003_1.html 
http://www.comcast.com 
http://www.discovery.com

(Sydney) Australian digital rights management firm Destra, which also offers a digital music subscription service at DestraMusic.com, announced that it has signed an agreement with The Orchard, an independent music distributor, to add 160,000 tracks from 2,500 independent record labels to its online catalog. Destra's tracks are distributed in Windows Media Audio format through partners including HMV.com.au and Sanity.com.au.
http://www.theorchard.com 
http://www.destramusic.com

(Santa Monica, Calif.) CinemaNow, an Internet video-on-demand service majority-owned by Canadian movie studio Lions Gate Entertainment, announced on Monday that it has signed a licensing agreement with York Entertainment. The deal will add 65 urban and Latino feature films to Santa Monica, Calif.-based CinemaNow's library of over 5,000 feature films, shorts, music concerts and television programs.
http://www.yorkentertainment.com 
http://www.cinemanow.com

(Malibu, Calif.) Toymaker Jakks Pacific announced on Monday that it has expanded an existing license agreement with comic book publisher Marvel Enterprises, to manufacture "TV Games" products based on Marvel properties. Malibu, Calif.-based Jakks will now also create plug-and-play video games based on "The Fantastic Four" and "Iron Man," in addition to previously announced products for "Spider-Man," "The Incredible Hulk" and others. The new titles are expected to launch in 2005.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040621/lam061_1.html 
http://www.marvel.com 
http://www.jakkstvgames.com

(Los Angeles) Video game publisher Atari on Monday shipped its "DRIV3R" title for PlayStation 2 and Xbox to retailers. Developed by U.K.-based Reflections Interactive, the racing title includes voice talent from actors Michael Madsen and Mickey Rourke. Additionally, Atari said mobile game publisher Sorrent has shipped its wireless version of "DRIV3R" for cell phones.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040621/215174_1.html
http://www.reflectionsinteractive.com 
http://www.sorrent.com 
http://www.driv3r.com

(Chicago) Game developer Midway Games on Monday shipped its "MLB SlugFest: Loaded" title for PlayStation 2 and Xbox to retailers. The latest game in Midway's "SlugFest" franchise features online elements for both console versions.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040621/215261_1.html 
http://www.midway.com

(Redwood City, Calif.) Electronic Arts announced on Monday the release of "Ultima Online 7th Anniversary Edition," the latest title in what the company says is the longest-running online game, launched in 1997. The package includes the game's original release, all five expansion packs, and several collector's edition extras.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040621/215246_1.html 
http://www.uo.com

(Austin) Mac game developer Aspyr Media on Monday shipped its version of Electronic Arts' "James Bond 007: Nightfire" for Macintosh to retailers. Austin-based Aspyr said the conversion was completed by Canada-based TransGaming Technologies.
http://www.aspyr.com 
http://www.transgaming.com

(New York) The New York Times on Monday examined the controversial targeted advertising scheme within Google's new Gmail 1GB email service, which in return for offering vast storage capacity for free, utilizes software to read users' email messages in order to serve them targeted ads. "We want the ads to be family friendly," Susan Wojcicki, Google's director of product management, told The Times. "There are some topics for ads we have decided that are not appropriate to be shown on e-mail." Among those topics are sex, guns, drugs or anything that could be construed as "negative."
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/21/technology/21google.html

(Cary, North Carolina) Wired News on Monday reported on the U.S. Army's new video game development studio, launched quietly in January amid the success of its "America's Army" massively multiplayer online game, which has 3.4 million registered players. The America's Army Government Applications office in Cary, North Carolina employs a team of 15 from companies including Red Storm, which created the "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell" military game franchise. In addition to creating games for consumers and recruitment efforts, the studio is also developing a range of training simulations for special forces, Secret Service and ordinary soldiers.
http://www.wired.com/news/games/0,2101,63911,00.html
http://www.americasarmy.com 
 
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